Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan portraited in a Chinese painting
Birth name:	Temüjin (Mongolian: Тэмүүжин)
Family name:	Borjigin (Mongolian: Боржигин)
Title:	Great Khan of Mongol Empire
Dates of reign:	1206 - August 18, 1227
Succeeded by:	Ogedei Khan
Marriage:	Börte
Children:	Borjigin Chagatai, son Borjigin Jochi, son Borjigin Ogedei, son Borjigin Tolui, son

Genghis Khan (Mongolian: Чингис Хаан, Jenghis Khan, Jinghis Khan, Chinghiz Khan, Jinghiz Khan, Chinggis Khan, Changaiz Khan, as Temüjin, Temuchin, Mongolian: Тэмүүжин) (c. 1155/1162/1167 – August 18, 1227) was a remarkable political and military leader, respected and feared by many during his time, who conquered some of Asia, and his successors expanded much further. As the first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, he is regarded as the founding father of Mongolia, admired by almost all Mongolians. A military and political genius, following the unification of all independent Mongol tribes, Genghis Khan created the Mongol Empire by conquering northern China (Jin Empire), Western Xia, Central Asia, Persia, and Mongolia. By the time of his death in 1227, his empire stretched from the Yellow Sea to the Caspian Sea. During his lifetime, and especially after his death, Genghis' exploits earned him a reputation as both a ferocious opponent against his enemies and, due to the introduction and success of Yasa, his code of law, as an outstanding statesman that established political and military organization of Mongol Empire to his successors. His grandson and successor Kublai Khan founded China's Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).

Kublai and other successors to Genghis Khan expanded the Mongol Empire to create an empire that stretched from Southeast Asia to Europe, covering 13.8 million square miles or more than 35 million square kilometers. According to some sources, the empire encompassed almost 50% of the world population, including the most advanced and populous nations such as China and many of the main contemporary states of the Islamic world in modern day Iraq, Persia, and Asia Minor. Mongol Empire was the largest land empire in human history, four times the area conquered by Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan's legacy continued with the later conquests of Timur Lenk, the renowned 14th century Turkic conquerer and India's Mughal Empire, founded by Babur in 1526.

Early life

Genghis Khan was born by the name of Temüjin sometime between 1162 and 1167, the second son of Yesükhei, a tribal chief of the Kiyad (singular: Kiyan). Yesükhei's clan is called Borjigin (plural: Borjigid). His mother was Hoelun of the Olkunut tribe. He was named after a defeated rival chief.

Temüjin's early life was a most difficult one. When he was only nine, his father delivered Temujin to his future wife's family where he was to live until he reached the marriageable age of 14. His father was murdered by the neighboring Tartars in 1175 while returning and Temüjin was inducted as the clan's chief. His clan abandoned him and his family, refusing to be led by a mere boy. For the next few years, he and his family lived the way of life of poor nomads, surviving primarily off rodents. In one instance he slew his half-brother over a dispute about sharing hunting spoils. In another, Temüjin was captured in a raid by his former tribe and held captive with a wooden collar around his neck. He later escaped with an assistance from a sympathetic captor.

Around the age of 16, Temüjin married his Börte of the Konkirat tribe, and received a black sable coat as a dowry; this was the foundation for his increased wealth from conquest. Later she was kidnapped in a raid by the Merkit tribe and Temujin called on his friend and later rival, Jamuka, and his protector, Toghril of the Kereit tribe. The birth of Börte's first child too soon after she was freed led to doubt over whose son he was and Jochi and his descendants were never considered for the Mongol succession.

Even from a young age, he showed such perserverence and dedication that other tribal leaders began to acknowledge his charismatic deeds.

Values of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan's leadership revolved around loyalty and merit by collecting people of talent and dedication to his political and military hierarchy. For example he respected others that were loyal to him, and it was not uncommon for him to befriend enemy fighters that showed loyalty to their leaders. He made it very clear that whoever was talented had equal chance of being promoted. Genghis Khan did not seem to care much about personal wealth as being a nomad; instead he dispersed goods from his conquests to his people and alliances that took part in the campaign. His political ideology was his Mongol written code of law "Yasa" like the constitution for the Mongols which was harsh and fair in terms of punishment. He assigned his son Chagatai Khan to oversee the judicial decisions concerning Yasa. Genghis Khan was smart to choose his son Chagatai because he was known as very staunch supporter of Genghis and his policies.

Genghis Khan believed in the power of meritocracy as opposed to aristocracy in building his empire, especially in selection of generals and aides for his campaign. He valued the power of spreading his ideas and influence in written language, in which he adoped the Uighur script from the Uighur clan that he unified to the Mongol Empire. He was willing to engage in peaceful trade and development by providing political stability to the Silk Road and revived and created trade routes that were jammed previously by chiefs and tribal leaders that used them for the own benefit. For example he intented to trade new arms with the Khwarezmid Empire, which didn't go through as he hoped, because of the humiliation from Khwarizmian leader. He outlawed all forms of torture and humiliation throughout the empire, especially declaring that there was to be no stealing of livestock, no adultery, and taking other people's property without their permission. He valued the importance of art and sciences by exempting teachers, doctors and intellects from taxes and integrated other people from China to the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan never persecuted anyone on religous grounds and believed in the political and military power resulting from freedom of religion throughout his empire. For example when he was engaging in battle with the shah of Khwarezmid Empire, it was seen as non-holy war between two leaders by the other Muslim leaders and therefore didn't join war against Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan's stance against opponents was to have them surrender or die.

He was aware of what others (opponents) valued and moved them by constantly learning and by responding to changes effectively. He seem to be a strict leader in terms of building his political and military organization while empowering his people in ways that made Genghis Khan a perfect leader of Mongols that had strong independent nature as being nomads in harsh temperatures.

Genghis Khan and his people believed that they were the center of the universe and greatest of all people, and they seemed to justify Genghis Khan's success in conflict as a proof that they were favored by the gods. Being connected close to Genghis Khan, whether be blood or friend made the person untouchable in terms of loyalty among Mongols. Genghis Khan and Mongols were very loyal to their beliefs and values and disregard for human lives if any of them endangered their noble values.

Genghis Khan totally supported his nomadic way of life and had many experiences and hardships that he faced when young in his life to show it, and therefore sympathized totally with all his people and their way of life. Genghis Khan was religious and the Mongols alike revered the "Eternal Blue Sky" (Munkh Huh Tenger) and the mountain in central Mongolia, "Burhan Haldun Uul," where he prayed many times before battle for its power and spirit.

As Genghis Khan said it himself:

...I wear the same clothing and eat the same food as the cowherds and horse-herders. We make the same sacrifices and we share our riches. I look upon the nation as a new-born child and I care for my soldiers as though they were my brothers."

Mongols before Genghis Khan

Main article: Mongols before Chinggis Khan

In 12th century there were various ethnic Mongol-Tungestic tribes that inhabited the plains of Central Asia with the Mongols being one of them, numbering around 700,000 at large. In around 1130, Mongols emerged as one of the powerful tribes among other tribes and even successfully forcing northern China's Jin Empire to pay tribute to the Mongols. Around 1160, the unified Mongol tribes were disintegrated by the neighboring Tartars at the southwest, which continued to be one of the major opponents of the Mongol tribes for some time. Due to rivalry between tribes, the Mongols had not been able to unite under a single political system, which caused them to feud among themselves for various reasons, especially for economic interests. After the disbanding of the Mongol tribes on the north, China's Jin Empire was well established and there was constant conflict between the Mongols and Jurchens, especially after 1189. The Chinese employed various raids and divide-and-rule approaches against the Mongols.

The harshness of the steppes

The plains the Mongols inhabited were prone to extreme fluctuating temperatures, being extremely cold in the winter with Siberia to the north and very hot in the summer with the Gobi Desert to the south. Mongols were nomads, moving in portable tents (ger) and relying heavily on their livestock for food. Therefore the Mongols couldn't store large amounts of food and supplies, which would burden their movements. Even still today, some Mongolians live under the mercy of their land, for example, moving to shelters and valleys during the winter for protection from extreme cold winds.

The Mongols' closeness with nature was the result of harsh climate and they therefore sometimes raided other tribes when times were particularly hard, interested in goods and supplies rather than bloodshed. The Mongols faced survival on a constant basis, as well as inter-tribal warfare, which contributed to their social life.

Genghis Khan and his people were and currently are proud of their heritage, and they clearly knew where they came from and where they were going. They thought all the lands in the world were their subjects and inferior in size. Mongols very much knew their military might and what kind of impact that it could bring to people, and they believed theirs was the strongest military anywhere in the world, and it was so. This concept of being self-aware of their surroundings, reverence for Nature (mother world) and her might was the basic mental doctrine of the Mongols. Mongols believed the real "test" was the test of nature, and once you can pass the test, they believed that it can be passed onto people. They somehow believed that mother world's power transferred and blessed them in their belief and her mighty force was passed to the Mongols making them more powerful than others that lived in cities and grew crops. They believed that they passed nature's test for centuries and inherited all their lessons and blessings of the world. Therefore Genghis Khan to the Mongols was the clear representation of this transformation and he was revered as close to Nature itself, and the Mongols would rather die than let him down. This aspect of spirit and transformations were clearly a part of Shamanism, which the Mongols practiced.

Uniting the tribes

Temüjin began his slow ascent to power by allying himself with his father's friend Toghril, a local chief. He traded his coat for an army and joined the Keriat, a confederacy of Mongols led by Wang Khan. After successful campaigns against the Tartars (1202), Temüjin was adopted as Wang Khan's heir. This led to bitterness on the part of Senggum, Wang's former heir, who planned to assassinate Temüjin. Temüjin learned of Senggum's intentions, however, and a large civil war broke out among the Mongols. Eventually Temüjin defeated Senggum and succeeded to the title of Wang Khan. Temüjin created a written code of laws for the Mongols called Yassa, and he demanded it to be followed very strictly.

Temüjin now attacked the other tribes and increased his power. By combining diplomacy, organization, military ability, and brutality, Temüjin finally managed to unite the tribes into a single nation, a monumental feature for the Mongols, who had a long history of internecine dispute.

The term "Mongol"

Genghis Khan seemed to assign a symbolic meaning to the name "Mongol". For example, it was not uncommon for Genghis Khan to refer to a person as "Mongol" after he had proven himself worthy. The term was not based exclusively on ethnicity. [1]

Lack of racial bias was one of the key factors that allowed tribes to join under Genghis. As an advantage, he provided strong leadership, unity, and morale along with building sophisticated social and economic system that was the foundation for his successors.

The foundations of an empire

In 1206 Temüjin had successfully united the formerly fragmented tribes of what is now Mongolia, and at a Khurultai/Khuriltai (a council of Mongol chiefs) he was titled "Genghis Khan" (alternate spellings exist; see above) or Universal Ruler (also "Ruler of all between the oceans".) He could now continue the long Mongol tradition of attacking China with greater success than usual, as he had built up a powerful military machine with unity as support.

As the great Khan, he used the military system of the Huns based on the decimal system, with armies being split into groups of 10, 100, 1000 and finally a tumen (10,000). The army took their families and horses with them, with each rider having 3 or 4 horses, so they always had fresh means of transport. At the beginning of his military campaign, he had no more than 25,000 soldiers.

China

At the time of the Khuriltai, Genghis was involved in a dispute with Western Xia, the first of his wars of conquest, and despite problems in taking well defended Western Xia cities, by 1209 when peace with Western Xia was made, he had substantially reduced the Western Xia dominion, and was acknowledged by their emperor as overlord.

A major goal of Genghis was the conquest of Jin, both to avenge earlier defeats and to gain the riches of northern China. He declared war in 1211, and at first the pattern of operations against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty was the same as it had been against Western Xia. Genghis Khan had only 150,000 men with the total population of 700,000 while the Chinese army had well over 2,000,000 men (possibly 3-5 million) and their population was well over 80,000,000. The Mongols were victorious in the field, but they were frustrated in their efforts to take major cities. In his typically logical and determined fashion, Genghis and his highly developed staff studied the problems of the assault of fortifications. With the help of Chinese engineers (who were captured by Genghis), they gradually developed the techniques that eventually would make them the most accomplished and most successful besiegers in the history of warfare.

As a result of a number of overwhelming victories in the field and a few successes in the capture of fortifications deep within China, Genghis had conquered and had consolidated Jin territory as far south as the Great Wall of China by 1213. He then advanced with three armies into the heart of Jin territory, between the Great Wall and the Huang He. Even though Genghis controlled an army about 75,000 ,he defeated the Jin forces of about 600,000. He devastated northern China, captured numerous cities, and in 1215 besieged, captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known as Beijing). The Jin emperor, Xuan Zong, however, did not surrender, but removed his capital to Kaifeng. There his successors finally were defeated, but not until 1234.

Central Asia

Meanwhile, Kuchlug, the deposed khan of the Naiman Mongols, had fled west and had usurped the state of Kara-Khitan Khanate, the western allies that had decided to side with Genghis. By this time, the Mongol army was exhausted by ten years of continuous campaigning against Western Xia and Jin. Therefore, Genghis sent only two tumen under a brilliant young general, Jebe, against Kuchlug. An internal revolt was incited by Mongol agents; then Jebe overran the country. Kuchlug's forces were defeated west of Kashgar; he was captured and executed, and Kara-Khitan was annexed. By 1218 the Mongol state extended as far west as Lake Balkhash and adjoined Khwarizm, a Muslim state that reached to the Caspian Sea in the west and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south.

In 1218 Genghis sent emissaries to an eastern province of Khwarizm with the intention to discuss possible trade with the Khwarizmian Empire. The governor of the province had them killed, and Genghis retaliated with a force of 200,000 troops. The Mongols quickly took the town and executed the governor by pouring molten silver into his ears.

At this point (1219) Genghis decided to extend Mongol dominions into the Muslim world. The Mongol horde methodically marched through Khwarizm's main cities (Bukhara, Samarkand, and Balkh), and the shah, Muhammad, prepared to battle them. However, he was outmaneuvered by the much swifter Mongols and driven into extended retreat. In the end, the shah killed himself when he was cornered and by 1220 the Khwarizmian Empire was eradicated.

Now the Mongol armies split. Genghis led a division on a raid through Afghanistan and northern India, while another contingent led by his general Subedei marched through the Caucasus and Russia. Neither campaign added territory to the empire, but they pillaged settlements and defeated any armies they met in their wake that did not surrender. In 1225 both divisions returned to Mongolia.

These invasions added Transoxiana and Persia to an already formidable empire and established Genghis Khan's reputation as a bloodthirsty warrior. His armies killed, destroyed, and looted seemingly without mercy if there was resistance. They used civilians as human shields and often systematically butchered any survivors after their raids if they did not surrender (except for artisans, writers and language specialists).

Europe

While Genghis was gathering his forces in Persia and Armenia, 40,000 of his troops pushed deep into Armenia and Azerbaijan. There Genghis destroyed Georgian crusaders, took Geneose trade-fortress in Crimea and stayed the winter near Black Sea. While Genghis was heading home, he met Prince Mstitslav of Kiev and his 80,000 troops, which was the Battle of Kalka River in 1223. He destroyed Prince Mstitslav's army.

Campaigns of Batu Khan and Subedei

It was during Ogedei Khan's period that armies of the Golden Horde led by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis, and the most talented general of Genghis, Subedei destroyed Kiev and Russian principilaties and led reconaissance mission deep into eastern and central Europe by defeating major defenses in Poland and Hungary, which is dubbed Battle of Legnica with no more than 20,000 flanking forces led by Subedei in 1241. Therefore, it was Genghis' descendants and their generals that pushed deep into Europe, not Genghis Khan himself.

See also: Khwarezmid Empire

The final campaign

The vassal emperor of Western Xia had refused to take part in the war against the Khwarizm, and Genghis had vowed punishment. While he was in Iran, Western Xia and Jin had formed an alliance against the Mongols. After rest and a reorganization of his armies, Genghis prepared for war against his foes.

By this time, advancing years had led Genghis to prepare for the future and to assure an orderly succession among his descendants. He selected his third son Ögedei as his successor and established the method of selection of subsequent khans, specifying that they should come from his direct descendants. Meanwhile, he studied intelligence reports from Western Xia and Jin and readied a force of 180,000 troops for a new campaign. These troops included 150,000 horse archers, 20,000 light cavalrymen, 8,000 infantrymen and 2,000 shangi-lahian centurions.

In AD 1226, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts (Western Xia) on the pretext that the Tanguts received the Mongols' enemies. In February, Genghis Khan took Heisui City, Gan-zhou and Su-zhou and in autumn, he took Xiliang-fu. A Western Xia general challenged the Mongols for a battle near Helanshan Mountain. (Helan means "great horse" in northern dialect.) The Western Xia armies were defeated. In November, he laid siege to the Tangut city of Ling-zhou and then crossed the Yellow River and defeated the Tangut relief army. Genghis reportedly saw five stars arranged in a line in the sky, which he took to be an omen.

In AD 1227, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts' capital, and in February, he took Lintiao-fu. In March, he took Xining prefecture and Xindu-fu. In April, he took Deshun prefecture. At Deshun, the Western Xia General Ma Jianlong resisted the Mongols for days and personally led charges against them outside of the city gate. Ma Jianlong later died of arrow shots. Genghis, after conquering Deshun, went to Liupanshan Mountain (Qingshui County, Gansu Province) for shelter from the severe summer. On the mountain, he stated that he had said one year ago that when five stars converged into one line, the Mongols should not kill people at random and made this a decree.

The new Western Xia emperor, being attacked by the Mongols, surrendered to them. The Tanguts officially surrendered in AD 1227, after being in existence for 190 years, from AD 1038 to AD 1227. The Mongols killed the Tangut emperor and his royal family members.

Preparation for succession

File:Mongol Empire after Genghis.jpg

Khanates of Mongol Empire: Ilkhanate, Chagatai Khanate, Empire of the Great Khan (Yuan Dynasty), Golden Horde

At the beginning of the end of his life, Genghis' descendants began to argue over who was to be his successor as Great Khan. To end the dispute, Genghis chose his third son Ogedei as the next Great Khan. In 1229 Mongol Kurultai formally selected Ogedei as the next Great Khan of Mongol Empire.

At his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire amongst his four sons. Jochi was the eldest, but he was already dead and his paternity was in doubt, so the most distant lands trodden by the Mongol Empire, then southern Ruthenia, were divided among his sons, Batu leader of the Blue Horde, and Orda, leader of the White Horde. Chagatai was next eldest son of Genghis, but he was considered a hothead, and so was given Central Asia and northern Iran. Ogedei, third oldest was made Great Khan and given China. Tolui, the youngest, was given the Mongol homeland as Mongol custom.

On his deathbed in 1227, Genghis Khan outlined to his youngest son, Tolui, the plans that later would be used by his successors to complete the destruction of the Jin Empire.

Death

File:Mongol Empire at 1227.jpg

Mongol Empire in 1227 at Genghis Khan's death.

In his last campaign against Western Xia Genghis died in August 18, 1227. The cause of his death is not certain with various speculations ranging from falling off his horse, due to an old age, or prophecies from his opponents. The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by Tanguts.

After he died, his body was returned to Mongolia, the escort killing anyone and anything that strayed across their path on the return trip, so as not to reveal where he was finally laid to rest. At his funeral, as secrecy, it is said that 40 baby camels were buried in Genghis Khan's grave, so that their mothers could not even locate the location where the baby camels were buried. The Genghis Khan Mausoleum is his memorial, but not his burial site. As of October 6, 2004, there has been an alleged discovery of "Genghis Khan's palace" that makes a discovery of his burial site likely.

Political achievements

Because of the extent of his empire, Genghis Khan deeply affected the cultures of many Asian countries, most notably China and Russia. He destroyed the existing aristocracy of every region he controlled, creating a rough meritocracy. He created a wide postal system and spread the use of a universal alphabet, though he for many years was believed to be illiterate due to the estimated recentness of the language, and his age at its implementation. Recently, however, findings by Chinese and Mongolian academics have shown that Genghis Khan was a highly literate man. A handwritten note was proven to be his, and the contents of the note indicated that he was able to read Taoist sermons [2]. Trade and travel between China, Middle East and Europe flourished by mostly the political stability that Mongol Empire provided to re-establishing the Silk Road. He outlawed torture in his provinces, exempted teachers and doctors from taxes, and established freedom of religion. The Mongols introduced most of Asia to the abacus and the compass. Asia is certainly quite different today than it would have been without the brief Mongol Empire.

Genghis Khan also united all the Mongol tribes, which some people argue that it was his most significant achievement. Also it's claimed that Genghis Khan also stopped the division between southern and northern China that tend to began from the time of Song Dynasty. One of the impressive achievements of Genghis Khan was he managed to gain love and support of Mongols, which are not easy thing to do in 12th century.

Perceptions of Genghis Khan

Perception of Genghis Khan has varied dramatically since he became the first Khan of Mongol Empire and continues to be somewhat polarizing figure in history. According to views in the West, Genghis is widely regarded as both a barbarian and with fascination in terms of what he and his descendants accomplished. In the East, his popularity is relatively positive and he is looked as a unifier and one of the greatest of all military leaders. Obviously he wasn't directly the person to blame for much of his negative perceptions that persist today, because it was his descendants and their generals that expanded the Mongol Empire deep into China, Middle East, and eastern and central Europe that gave the Mongols more exposure to outsiders. In other words, he laid the groundwork for much of what had happened since his death in terms of victories and conquests.

Genghis was and currently regarded extremely respectful by the Mongols as the founding father of unified Mongol nation, which has been plaqued by internecine conflicts that persisted among them for centuries. As nomads, Mongols were not well equipped with storing large food and supplies. Therefore Genghis is looked by Mongols as the leader who eliminated inter-tribal warfare, gave shared purpose, and introduced a political system that benefited the Mongols socially and economically through conquests. During his time, Genghis Khan was the supreme ruler of all Mongol nation, making him revered leader by all in Mongol Empire.

Perception of Genghis as a villain revolves around by mostly the human casualties and destruction of various cultural treasures in his conquests. On the other hand, in the Middle East, people have mixed views about Genghis and his descendants because their armies conquered and sacked Baghdad, but some Mongol armies eventually converted to Islam. Genghis' methodical march with his unstoppable and advanced warfare techniques were enough for other people to portray him and his philosophy as not being good, especially in the Western cultures that relatively values materialism than the faith and self-worth that is relatively important in the East cultures in terms of how you look at it. Genghis Khan somehow brings this division in beliefs among the East, West and the Middle East.

Therefore the names Genghis Khan and Mongols are almost synonymous with unstoppability, ferocity and conquests in and around much of the countries that were conquered by Genghis Khan and Mongols as well as most of the world. It is widely agreed that no one in world history conquered much land as the Mongols, and therefore he is portrayed not really positively in significant size of the world and many people take personal approach to portraying Genghis Khan's character because of his superiority in tactics and strategies that outmaneuvered many armies during the time, especially among Europeans, Central Asians and Middle Easterners. Genghis Khan clearly breaks the understanding of Western imperialism that is prevalant among European socities, and makes contradiction with European belief (mostly stronger in 19th century) where the Mongols eventually turned back from the conquest of Western Europe almost ruling a land from the Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean. All sides of views are highly biased and objective views on Genghis Khan isn't as widespread as the subjective views, although his ability as a great leader is undisputed. Therefore Mongols, especially Genghis Khan are a very controversial topics from where our current understanding stands today, and those are changing to give balance to different cultural views.

Views toward Genghis Khan in the modern day People's Republic of China are ambivalent with current Chinese historians seeing him as neither strongly positive or negative. While acknowledging the vast amount of damage the Genghis Khan created, his reputation is somewhat redeemed by the fact that he would set into motion events which would later end the north-south division of China that had begun during the Song Dynasty. In addition, to vilify Genghis would greatly offend Chinese citizens of Mongol descent, who like their relations in Mongolia regard Genghis Khan as an ethnic folk hero, and so the tendency in modern Chinese histories has been to avoid doing so.

Organization under Genghis Khan

Politics

Genghis Khan was strict and capable leader. He initiated a Mongol written code of law for all people under his empire to follow everyday in which violaters would be put to death for minor offenses. Because of the ethnic, religious and tribal diversity of the civilians and soldiers of Mongol Empire including modern day Persians, Chinese and Europeans, he transferred all loyalty only to himself (Great Khan) and no others. In order to sustain and replenish for military costs and activities, Genghis Khan allowed leaders to remain in power as long as they provided military service, payed tribute and furnished labor on a constant basis. Having conquered a vast land, Genghis Khan encouraged trade and exchange on a constant basis and Mongols alike valued goods and trade that came from others. Traders, clergyman, envoys were provided with security and guidance under Mongol Empire, in which, for example, some of them reached China including Italian traveller Marco Polo to Beijing under Kubilai Khan's rule. Under Genghis Khan's rule, all "individuals and religions were equal under Mongol law."

Military

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Representation of 12th and 13th century Mongol soldiers in Naadam.

Genghis Khan's military strategy was incomparibly superior to any military in 12th and 13th century.

Genghis organized the Mongol soldiers into groups based around the number ten (i.e. 10 (arban), 100 (zuun), 1000(myangan), 10,000(tumen)), and each group of soldiers had a specific leader whom would report higher up in his rank to the rank of tumen. This command structure proved to be highly flexible and allowed the Mongol army to attack en masse, divide into somewhat smaller groups to encircle and lead enemies into and ambush, or divide into small groups of 10 to mop up a fleeing and broken army. The Mongol army also was highly flexible due to the durability of its soldiers. Each Mongol soldier would have between 2 and 4 horses allowing them to gallop for days without stopping or tiring. The Mongol soldier also could live for days off of only his horse's blood and eating dried yak meat if times were hard.

When integrating new soldiers into the army, Genghis Khan divided all the soldiers under a different leader to break up the social and tribal associations that might exist among the newly recruits. In all campaigns, the soldiers took their families along with them for the battle. Only through merit that regular soldiers were capable of being promoted to a higher rank and each leader of the units were responsible for preparedness of their soldiers at any given time, which otherwise he would be replaced.

Mongol soldiers were extremely light in cavalry that allowed them to practice tactics and falls retreats that would be highly practical for very mobile army. Mongol leader during battle might be anywhere in the formation and he used flags and horns to order his strategies on time. To the Mongols, victory was what mattered most, and they couldn't afford to lose battle nor men because they were extremely poor in logistics compared to their opponents (at least twice as low in almost all battles) and being far away from their land. The main weapon of the Mongol soldiers was the double-recursive bow, which had longer shooting distance than most bows during 12th and 13th century and the Mongol sword that was curved, light and extremely efficient for slashing in close distance than the European long and heavy swords. To make the military work under Genghis' law, Mongol soldiers had very clear rules of engagement as stated in Genghis Khan's Yasa. For example if a two or more soldiers further break away from their group without their leader's approval, they would be put to death. Genghis Khan added the one necessary ingredient, which was strict discipline to his armies that was similar to many armies of the steppes during the time that were based upon the light cavalry horse-archer type of warfare that was advantagous in open-field battles like the armies of Jurchens and previously Huns. In other words, Genghis Khan perfected the horse-archer type of warfare that existed for centuries.

Genghis Khan employed psychological warfare successfully in his battles, especially in terms of spreading terror and fear to other towns and cities. For example if he found that there was an opposition, Genghis Khan would offer an opportunity to surrender and pay tribute to the Mongols. If the offer was refused, he would invade the cities and towns and let few civilians flee to spread word of their loss to other cities. When word got out that Genghis Khan's force destroyed any resistance, it became much harder for other leaders to persuade their people to rise up against Genghis. Genghis Khan's stance against opponents was to surrender or die. When surrendered, Genghis Khan left the town unharmed and guaranteed them protection, and if they resisted, Genghis Khan slaughtered with ease as an example for others. It is argued that he saved many lives because of psychological warfare.

Genghis Khan made extensive use of technologies that he united from other cultures. For example, siege machines were important part of Genghis Khan's warfare especially in attacking fortified cities. He unified Chinese technicians that were advanced during the time to join his effort. Usually these siege engines were disassembled and were caried on horses and constructed on the location that they were to be used. Therefore, siege warfare was an important part of Genghis Khan's military strategy.

Before invasion of an opposition, Genghis and his generals made extensive preparation in Kurultai to decide how the upcoming war would be conducted and as well as which generals would participate in the campaign; meanwhile they would thoroughly accumulate intelligence from their opponents, which after then hostilities would be calculated. Also they decided how many units would be called up. On the other hand, Mongol generals were armed with high-degree of independent decision making privileges as long as they abode by Genghis' timetable, which minimized the unexpected aspects of the campaign. Because of the mobile nature of Mongol armies, Genghis Khan built a complex intelligence network through Mongol soldiers, trade networks and vassals in which intelligence would arrive instantly on all corners of Mongol Empire. In preparation of warfare, the military generals would send out 200 horse man to 4 geographic directions to scout for possible activity, sometimes soldiers riding 200 miles in 1 or 2 days, which were common during the time.

Even though Mongol strategy seemed to vary slightly in response to their enemies, their technique was the same.

Mongols would engage in columns, which was usually three separate divisions, so that the two side divisions can diverge from the center column when need arises. For example, the flanking forces "went into neighboring territories," which they would eventually meet with the center column. The idea and the advantage of flanking forces was to spread terror, gather intelligence from their opponents and eliminate smaller opponent divisions from giving and receiving support. These flanking columns had messengers that timely relayed intelligence to the mother column constantly. Also Mongol armies were willing to engage in field armies before invading the main opposition, which gave them advantage in terms of eliminating the possible communication from the opponent's city to another that they might be expecting aid. Obviously when there were small towns and villages, they were taken to spread terror and to give sudden economic stress on the main city with influx of refugees. Sometimes these people were absorbed into the army as soldiers and also would serve as human shields.

Once the main battle and siege is over, Mongol armies would follow the enemy leader until he was dropped in order to make him unable to be a rallying point for his army after the defeat. Most times the enemy leaders would escape realizing that they would likely lose the war, but the Mongol forces followed until they made sure they died.

Legacy

Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire, and his successors were to expand it even further, into south China, Russia, Iraq, Korea, and Tibet. The Mongols conquered, with complete success by defeating Poles, supported by the feudal nobility including the Teutonic Knights and Hungarians, Poland, Hungary, and varying degrees of success, Syria, Japan, and Vietnam. The Western expansion came to halt, when high-ranking members of Mongols returned to modern day Mongolia to participate in selection of the next great Khan. The Mongols might have been ready to conquer Western Europe, having almost reached gates of Vienna after conquering Poland and Hungary. The empire reached its height under Genghis's grandson Kublai Khan, but broke apart into separate and less powerful khanates shortly afterward. Nevertheless, Genghis's influence would reverberate with the later conquests of Tamerlane and the Mughal Empire. Kublai Khan restarted Chinese invasion and established Yuan Dynasty by 1271, conquering Song Dynasty and eventually reaching Vietnam.

At its height, Mongol Empire was arguably the largest contiguous empire in human history, stretching from Southeast Asia to Europe, covering 13.8 million square miles or more than 35 million square kilometers. According to some sources, the empire encompassed almost 50% of the world population, including the most advanced and populous nations of that time: China and many of the main contemporary states of the Islamic world in Iraq, Persia, and Asia Minor.

Also, Genghis Khan's waging of war was characterized by wholesale destruction on unprecedented scale and radically changed the demographic situation in Asia. According to the works of Iranian historian Rashid-ad-Din Fadl Allah, Mongols massacred over 70,000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur. China suffered a drastic decline in population. Before the Mongol invasion, China had about 100 million inhabitants; after the complete conquest in 1279, the census in 1300 showed it to have roughly 60 million people. This does not, of course, mean that Genghis Khan's men were directly responsible for the deaths of 40 million people but it does give a sense of the ferocity of the onslaught.

In recent times, Genghis Khan has become a symbol for Mongolia's attempts to regain its identity after many long years of Communism. Genghis Khan's face appears on Mongolian bank notes and vodka labels. He is often associated in the Western world with bloodthirstiness and barbarism. In the East, he is considered one of the greatest of all military leaders. Later Mongol Khans encouraged the people to even worship Genghis Khan as a religious entity throughout the empire. Without Genghis Khan, there would seem to be no Mongolia. Significant accounts on Genghis Khan and the Mongols although not as factual like a report are covered in the book The Secret History of the Mongols that has anonymous author that wrote the book in 13th century.

A recent genetic survey (Zerjal et al. 2003, pdf of paper) found a cluster of Y chromosome variants in 1/12 of the men in the area of the Mongol Empire, and 1/200 of men worldwide. The age of the cluster, estimated from the mutation rate, places its origin around the time of Genghis Khan, and it is especially common among the Hazara people, who claim to be descended from Genghis Khan.

He is considered as an extremely intelligent man and by some as a political and military genius. Mongolians continue to believe in his reincarnation to this current day, and they are very proud of being his descendants.

External links

References

Zerjal, Tatiana, Yali Xue, Giorgio Bertorelle, R. Spencer Wells, Weidong Bao, Suling Zhu, Raheel Qamar, Qasim Ayub, Aisha Mohyuddin, Songbin Fu, Pu Li, Nadira Yuldasheva, Ruslan Ruzibakiev, Jiujin Xu, Qunfang Shu, Ruofu Du, Huanming Yang, Matthew E. Hurles, Elizabeth Robinson, Tudevdagva Gerelsaikhan, Bumbein Dashnyam, S. Qasim Mehdi, and Chris Tyler-Smith. 2003. The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols. The American Journal of Human Genetics 72:718-721
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